RGV Republican Liberty Club

Updated! Added a few more points I forgot about because I was thinking of cleaning the sticking keys in my keyboard.

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Today saw the first of several as yet unscheduled meetings to cover the issue of redistricting the borders of the various political districts in Texas. The populations in Congressional, Senatorial, Texas House, and State Board of Education districts will be enlarged significantly next year based on the final tally of the 2010 U.S. Census information. As such, we are in the public commentary phase whereby citizens are able to speak with the committee members of the Redistricting committee as to their wishes regarding potential changes to the existing borders. Many organizations and people will have agendas regarding how new borders will be drawn up. Here in Hidalgo county, it is particularly important that we reunify the region into closer regions.

Following is the testimony that I verbally submitted to the Committee. I also submitted written testimony for the record.

Hidalgo County is currently a split Senate District across SD20 & SD27. It makes sense to reunify the county and place it in a contiguous Senate District based on commonality of its citizens.

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that Texas has seen a growth rate of 18.8% between the 2000 Census and July 1, 2009. Along that time, Hidalgo County has seen explosive growth outpacing that of the state, with a projected change of 31.8% from 569,463 to 750,714.

Additionally, of the 25 counties that outpaced the rate of growth of the State, only 4 of these counties are outside the I-35 corridor: Montgomery, Fort Bend, Brazoria, and Hidalgo. Of these 4 counties, Hidalgo is the only border county, assuring a swift and continued long term growth.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in White v. Regester established that State legislatures could deviate from the Ideal district population size by as much as 10%. The current Ideal population size based on Estimated 2009 population is 799,429. Collectively, Hidalgo County and Starr County have a total 2009 estimated population of 803,823 which equates to one half of one percent deviation from the Ideal population size. This is essentially a perfect District delineation across existing county lines. Furthermore, the inherent ethnic makeup is similar across both counties.

County                 Year       Hispanic               Anglo                    Black

Hidalgo                 2000       88.3%                    10.5%                    0.3%

Hidalgo                 2008       89.6%                    8.8%                      0.5%

Starr                      2000       97.5%                    0.3%                      0.1%

Starr                      2008       97.3%                    1%                          0.7%

The people of these two counties have more in common with each other than with others spread across the current SD20 and SD21. We both live on the border and share similar concerns, such as border violence, security, and the recent flooding of the Rio Grande river from excess rain during the beginning of the hurricane season. We face the same concerns here along the border and have more in common with each other than those 200+ miles away from us. It makes logistical sense to unify the region into a single Senate District. It will save money in Election costs, requiring less election workers, ballots, and precincts. Starr County is the poorest county in Texas while Hidalgo County is the 8^th poorest county. Why increase election costs by a far flung district?

Representation of this unified Senate District would be most welcome from its tax paying citizens.

The same equally applies towards the Congressional district borders. We have 3 separate and disparate regions that are vertically oriented, stretching from the valley to parts northward up to 250 miles away! What do the people of Laredo have in common with Mission? What do the people of McAllen have in common with Kleberg? What do the people of Harlingen have in common with Corpus Christi? It only makes sense that the regions along the border in an east-west orientation should be unified, as we are the communities of interest here. In McAllen, I have more in common with the people of Rio Grande City, Mission, Edinburg, PSJA, and Donna. I don’t need a Congressional Rep out of Laredo or Seguin representing me, as they have next to no idea as to what my needs are. Instead, I need a Rep from my region that knows what is important to me, such as border security issues, education, emergency services, Veteran’s Administration, and the recent flooding of the Rio Grande River into adjacent land from excess rain during the opening of the Texas Hurricane season. Farmers are still cringing at the prospect of forecast rain right now, which has the potential of destroying what is left of the local sorghum crops! Flooding has risen to the extent that commercial trucking has been diverted all the way to El Paso area. What kind of impact does this have on the economic situation here in the valley? This is the sort of action item we need a regional STRONG representative for, not someone 200+ miles away.

The committee meeting started out with a bit of trouble, as the original Texas House Redistricting website posting had the meeting scheduled for 10AM, but it was a dead link! I had to parse the website URL and manually correct it to get the info. Our group contacted them about this discrepancy and they swore they would correct it. 2 weeks later, and AFTER the scheduled meeting, the link on the website is STILL NOT WORKING. See their homepage at http://www.tlc.state.tx.us/redist/redist.htm and sure enough, the joint public hearing notification is still a dead link. The meeting is already over, yet the notification is still incorrect. Not only that, but they changed the scheduling from 10AM to 12PM. Verbal confirmation was sought beforehand, and the phone answerer stated first 10, then 12. Hmm. Successive calls to the House Committee phone number of (512) 463-9948 were answered immediately by an answering machine. It went straight to voicemail. It was full, so could not record a voicemail. Hmm. Well, it was originally posted for 10AM, so we planned on being there for a 10AM meeting! Arriving around 9:30, we waited a bit for the Convention Center to open up. After heading inside, we waited yet again for another 3 hours or so. SREC Committeeman Eric Opiela was asked about the scheduling info beforehand, and he stated he thought it was at 12PM. He was leaving Austin at 6AM, so it had better be at 12! Everyone signed in and we proceeded inside.

The panel of committee members was a bit more extensive than I had expected. I’m glad to see that some of the Representatives from Central and North Texas, specifically Larry Phillips (R-62), Jim Jackson (R-115), Tryon D. Lewis (R-81), and Bryan Hughes (R-5) actually sought me out in the hallway prior to the beginning of the meeting, asking who I was and if I represented any group. This was behavior I had not expected, as in every other case of my personal interaction with Representatives in Texas, I always had to seek them out first, begging an audience. At no point did Representatives CLOSER to me geographically seek me out to converse. Specifically, my own House Representative Veronica Gonzales (D-41) and Ryan Guillen (D-31), Abel Herrero (D-34), Aaron Pena (D-40), Armando Martinez (D-39) and Eddie Lucio (D-38) merely passed me in the hallway as they entered the conference room, exhibiting no interest in my presence. Now, I don’t want to read too much into the letters after their names and the level of their politeness towards me prior to the meeting, but I certainly find it interesting to see that those Texas Representatives closest to me geographically completely ignored me, whereas those from Central or North Texas exhibited interest in my presence.

Unfortunately, an attorney for the Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund (MALDEF) had been given nearly a full hour to talk and be questioned by the committee. He was also recognized as the same individual who had given the same testimony to the same committee in San Antonio. Local citizens (of which the MALDEF attorney apparently is not) were made to wait for their chance to speak for a mere 5 minutes in comparison. I didn’t have to wait too long once we were in public comments time after the MALDEF attorney before I was called to testify.

I was called to the podium to speak in an out-0f-order queue. I’m not sure what order the speakers were scheduled in, but it was certainly not in order as they signed in to do so. I had expected a typical give and take of For/Against commentary is in Robert’s Rules of Order (RRO) but this committee was scheduled as a precursor to any legislation, so topics were not For/Against but rather your respective thoughts on the particular issue were. As I stepped up to the podium, I introduced myself to the committee, which was currently approximately at half strength. Nearly half the members were no longer on the dais, as they had left the room to conduct an interview, answer the call of nature, or for some other reason which was apparently more important. After an internal sigh, I welcomed the committee to the valley, especially the Central and North Texas Representatives, for whom we have so few occasions to meet and speak with. I also expressed my surprise and dismay that there were no U.S. or Texas flags in the room, to which we should have opened the committee meeting with a Pledge of Allegiance. I spoke my mind and submitted my written testimony, as listed above.

The end outcome of this event will be either 3 or 4 new Congressional seats next year, and some changes to existing political borders across the state when the final U.S. Census information is tallied. In particular, Hidalgo county has seen explosive growth over the past decade.

Here are some pics.

Additionally, after the meeting stood in adjournment, Chairman Todd Hunter(R-32) approached me and thanked me for my participation and comments. He informed me that the issue of the flags had not been brought up, and he was thankful that I had notified him of it. I have a little feeling that he was surprised by the turnout of local Republicans to the meeting, expecting a strong contingent of local Democrats instead. This was not the case. Several people spoke regarding the issues surrounding redistricting, but most people were identified as Republicans. Much thanks to Chairman Hunter for the personal picture after the event!

The gallery is at http://rgvrlc.org/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=3779 for the rest of the photos.

The Hidalgo County Republican Party has concluded the 2010 County Convention successfully. The convention heard the committee reports in the morning and elected it’s permanent Chair, Secretary, & Seargeant-At-Arms correctly, as per Rules. Unlike past conventions elsewhere which failed to follow Rules, our convention went off with little fanfare. There were a few questions here and there, as are expected with guests and delegates which are not highly active in the Party. They were properly covered, including a few amendments to alter some wording of Resolutions to make them clearer or to correctly name certain individuals with middle names.

It is necessary to thank those who gave their time and efforts to bringing it all together. As SD20 had some 62 delegates this year, the pool of available candidates to sit on committees and do the necessary work to whittle down Resolutions and Rules were covered with little trouble. Nonetheless, I thank those people who served on those committees greatly, particularly the Resolutions committee. Having to meet for several days prior to the Convention in order to submit a preliminary list of Resolutions is not a short task. This is particularly true considering the number of Resolutions submitted. Reviewing several dozen of them and codifying them into cohesive versions or altering language to make them more clear takes time. Anyone who has ever served on a committee knows how this process goes. It takes time to read something aloud several times and gain consensus on it. Much debate and discussion is necessary prior to that consensus being attained. The Chairmen of these committees are to be saluted because of their responsibilities in assuring that proper form be followed.

Much thanks is also directed to the delegates who attended. 2 years ago we had more than twice the attendance due to it being a Presidential Election year. This time around, being an off-year, meant that less people attended. We still selected our 44 delegates from SD20 to the State Convention in June along with those alternates who wished to go. We even had a surplus of slots available for alternates, so anyone who had the desire to go and attend will have the ability to do so. I hope everyone who wants to go appeared before the Nominations committee and made their case. I spoke with a few people who are included in this list. God luck to them in June!

Thanks also to our County Chairman, Hollis Rutledge. Hollis has led our County for 12 years as Chairman and served 8 years as Chairman of the Texas Republican County Chairman’s Association. In both capacities, he has served well under difficult situations, with the opposition Party having the lion’s share of resources and officials in it’s corner. With such difficulties, he left the TRCCA with a substantial financial surplus, as well as helping the County Party to raise a respectable sum. We thank him greatly, and look forward to picking his mind and taking advantage of his great experience in the future. Hollis is truly a great man and an excellent resource for our local Party.

For those who attended this year for the first time, I hope to see you again in the future, not only at future conventions, but also in the Party working to promote the ideals of the Republican Party in everyday life here in Hidalgo County. It is amazing that being a border county with about a half a million people we have such little influence and representation locally. It is an abslolute imperative that we educate our neighbors locally. With the majority of local people coming from Conservative persuasions, this should be an easy task, but it has indeed been difficult operating against the machine of the local opposition Party. I welcome all those to our cause who know that the liberties and freedoms we have celebrated throughout our history as the American People are under attack and are willing to do something about it to protect those liberties and freedoms. You are needed. As Thomas Jefferson said, “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.”

Here are some selected photos from the convention:

The whole gallery can be seen here.

American Thinker reports:

El Monitor has decided to grace us with more than mere notification of the raid at the Courthouse earlier today.

Thousands of criminal cases in one of Hidalgo County’s misdemeanor courts were called into question Wednesday with the arrest of two of its employees on bribery charges.

Daniel Vega, the court coordinator in County Court-at-law No. 5, and his assistant Javier Mireles were caught on video offering to dismiss a case in exchange for a $4,000 payment, Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño said.

And while their arrests are tied to one specific payment that came from an undercover investigator, authorities believe similar behavior may have been going on for years, affecting hundreds of criminal defendants.

“I don’t believe that this was their first time at bat,” the sheriff said.

Hidalgo County District Attorney Rene Guerra vowed Wednesday to review every case dismissed in the court over the past seven years, the length of time both men were employed there.

“I am deeply concerned that this would happen in our courthouse and under our watch,” he said. “We are duty-bound to review every case and look for anything that doesn’t seem right. Whatever is wrong, we will try to right it.”

Arnoldo Cantu, the court’s presiding judge, was unavailable for comment, his remaining court staff said Wednesday morning while juggling FBI agents and sheriff’s deputies who arrived to search their office.

Despite the criminal charges against two of his top administrators, Cantu is not currently suspected of any involvement in the bribery scheme, the sheriff said.

Well, the instances of a Hidalgo County official getting arrested doesn’t particularly come as a surprise to anyone who lives here, but perhaps the best thing related to this oh so short article (way to go El Monitor!) is the commentary by the users. Several mentions to vote Republican this time around, especially referencing Scott Brown’s Massachusetts Senate win last night! Maybe some people are starting to actually get sick of “business as usual” in Hidalgo County. The peasants have revolted in Massachusetts. Democrats take note.

from El Monitor:

The FBI and sheriff’s deputies arrested “people associated with” Hidalgo County Court-at-law No. 5 during a raid Wednesday morning, authorities said.

FBI agents alongside Hidalgo County sheriff’s deputies executed a search warrant at the court Wednesday morning, said Special Agent John Johnson, who heads the FBI’s McAllen office.

Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño said an arraignment is set for “people associated with the courtroom” who were arrested during the raid. The sheriff did not disclose what criminal charges they face, or how many arrests were made.

A call to Hidalgo County Court-at-law No. 5 Judge Arnoldo Cantu’s office was not answered shortly before 11 a.m. Wednesday.

Treviño would not immediately provide details on why deputies and agents raided the court. A press conference is scheduled for after the arraignment.

The sheriff’s office public integrity unit is leading the case with help from the FBI’s public corruption unit, Johnson said.

Rebecca Cervera is the candidate for State Representative in District 41. She is running unopposed in the Republican Primary and will later go on to run in the General Election against the Incumbent Veronica Gonzales (D-41). As Veronica has a history of not representing this district very well, many of our members are pleased that Rebecca has stepped forward as a candidate for this position. Based upon a press release from the Hidalgo County Democrat Party’s office, it seems clear that the Dems are none to pleased to have a strong candidate running against them this year in a non-Presidential election year. Aside from my recommendation to Dolly Elizondo to hire the services of a professional editor prior to the dissemination of future press releases, I am happy to report that they are scared in this election. The increasingly socialistic tendencies of the current administration is proof positive to the American people that the myth they have been sold in November of 2008 is evaporating quickly like the morning dew on a Valley lawn. This season, we look forward to getting the word out that a candidate stands ready to fight for the wishes and desires of the constituency of District 41, instead of merely standing back and serving the desires of special interest groups with deep pockets.

The Star-Telegram makes a pretty good argument for a 10-cent tax per gallon of gasoline instead of privatizing toll roads for the commercial gain of foreign corporations. It is probably enough to revisit the issue of private ownership of toll roads and consider this tax instead.

It’s not just Texas that is refusing to deal with crumbling, outdated or inadequate highway systems and instead turning the task over to private hands. But Texas is abdicating its sovereign duty to protect its citizens from the financial pressures of the highway privateers, not to mention its responsibility to build infrastructure for economic growth.

So how did politicians get the idea that privatizing roads across America was an acceptable future?

Two words: Goldman Sachs.

Yes, large Wall Street investment banks, led by Goldman, started advising states across the nation on how to raise fast money by diverting the most necessary publicly owned assets — roads — into private ownership. You have to admit, it’s brilliant, because it’s a forced and guaranteed market: Americans can’t get out of driving.

As Daniel Schulman and James Ridgeway wrote in their scathing article, “The Highwaymen,” in January of 2007, “Many similar deals are now on the horizon, and MIG and Cintra are often part of them. So is Goldman Sachs, the huge Wall Street firm that has played a remarkable role advising states on how to structure privatization deals — even while positioning itself to invest in the toll road market.

This is of course truer for Texas than any other state in the Union. Texas is the second largest state in the Union with 268,820 square miles, but according to national transportation statistics (Table HM-10), as of 2008, Texas had 306,404 miles of public roads, more than any other U.S. state. California (172,512) came in a not-so-close second, Illinois (139,492) was third, and Kansas (140,609) was fourth. With all this mileage of roads, doesn’t it make sense to fund them the most efficient way possible?

When Will This End?

In many states and before it’s over likely in Texas, roads already bought and paid for by taxpayers either have been or will be sold off to the highway privateers. Now that’s the ultimate insult: Citizens bought the road and maintained it, but the fact that so many drivers use them makes it financially attractive for the state to resell them to private concerns for hard cash. (Notice that no one is considering privatizing Texas’ Farm to Market Roads. There’s just not enough traffic for the expense.) Then those buyers recoup their investment by charging everyone new tolls — under contracts that often extend up to 99 years.

So, Sylvia Handy is ordered into house arrest? Is this really the best that the Federales can come up with?

from El Monitor:

A federal court has ordered Hidalgo County Commissioner Sylvia Handy remain on 24-hour home lockdown and could send her to jail, amid allegations she tried to influence a witness in her ongoing criminal case.

Prosecutors said Handy offered $500 concert tickets to family members of an illegal immigrant that worked in her home days after she was indicted in connection with giving the woman a job.

The purported incident marks the third time the commissioner has been accused of witness tampering since her arrest on charges of conspiracy, tax fraud and harboring illegal immigrants.

During a court hearing Monday, Handy’s attorney – Al Alvarez – denied that his client had done anything wrong.

“It’s not a serious allegation,” he said. “There was no exchange. There was no quid pro quo. There was no attempt to influence a witness.”

FBI agents initially arrested Handy and her husband in April, saying they used taxpayer money to pay two women who were in the country illegally to perform housekeeping and babysitting services in their home. The commissioner allegedly put both on the payroll at her Precinct 1 office, even though neither did any actual work for the county.

Earlier this month, federal prosecutors identified a third purported servant — Beatriz Adriana Garcia Caudillo — who worked in Handy’s home in a superseding indictment against her issued Nov. 12.

The commissioner contacted Garcia’s sister within two days of that document’s filing with the court and offered her tickets to a church fundraiser at which the Roma-based band Grupo Duelo was set to perform, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Rodriguez.

The woman turned her down but was allegedly contacted two more times by Handy’s children who urged her to take the tickets. She had been listed on the government’s list of potential trial witnesses since August.

“She was making contact with specific people in regards to specific charges in the new indictment,” he said.

Rodriguez made similar claims during Handy’s original arraignment in April. As Handy stood before the court then hours after her arrest, he said the government intended to file further charges against her including those of tampering with witnesses.

The only additional counts that have emerged since then are those of tax fraud and the allegations concerning Garcia.

But another witness in the Handy case – one of her former employees at the county’s Precinct 1 office – accused the commissioner in a civil lawsuit filed in April of firing her after learning the woman had been cooperating with federal agents.

A federal judge ultimately threw out that case, ruling that the alleged retribution constituted the basis for a criminal – not a civil – trial.

During Monday’s court hearing, U.S. Magistrate Judge Dorina Ramos ordered the court’s pre-trial monitors to investigate Rodriguez’s claims and decide whether they would seek to revoke Handy’s $100,000 bond.

Until then, she said, the commissioner must submit to GPS monitoring and request court permission before leaving her Weslaco home.

Alvarez questioned that decision, pointing out that the judge set no timeline for how quickly the matter might be resolved and that federal prosecutors hadn’t actually asked her to change his client’s bond conditions.

“She’s a sitting county commissioner,’ he said. “She has constitutional obligations that she has to fulfill.”

Handy has maintained her innocence on all the charges against her and is set to take her case before a jury in January.

If convicted, she could face up to 10 years in prison and $250,000 in fines.

They say that the only things in life that are sure to happen are death and taxes… Well, Cameron County just voted on a tax hike, and it takes effect in 9 days. Enjoy your tax increase citizens!

from KRGV

Cameron County residents will see an increase in their taxes next month.

County Judge Carlos Cascos says the county commissioners adopted the budget in Thursday night’s meeting by a 3-2 vote. The budget includes a one cent tax rate increase to 36 cents per $100.

That means if you own a $100,000 home, your taxes will go up by $10.

Cascos says they had already made $3 million in cuts, but they’re no longer in the red for next year’s budget.

The tax rate increase will go into affect on October 1.

Well, Representative Ortiz (TX-27) has been on board HR1207 as a cosponsor since 5/14/2009. Ruben Hinojosa has finally seen the light and signed on as a cosponsor as of 9/10/2009! I congratulate my Congressman for finally recognizing that he would be on the wrong side of history if he did not get on board with this Bill. Representative Hinojosa is joined by others who have recently realized how important this legislation is to the American public. Rep Kurt Schrader [OR-5] on 9/15/2009, Rep Eddie Bernice Johnson [TX-30] on 9/15/2009, & Rep Glenn C. Nye, III [VA-2] on 9/17/2009 have all recently realized it’s import. This brings the total cosponsors of the Bill to 291, including every single Republican! As of September 17, only 143 remaining Representatives have yet to sign on as cosponsors, all of them Democrats. This includes one of the Valley’s own Representatives, Henry Cuellar (TX-28) who for some strange reason continues to claim that he is a Blue Dog Democrat while voting some 97% Party Line.

On Friday, September 25th the House Financial Services Committee has scheduled a full committee hearing on H.R. 1207 to audit the Federal Reserve. The hearing is slated to begin at 9am eastern time. For details and a link to the (eventual) live streaming video of the hearing check out the committee website.

Here is the contact info for Henry Cuellar so you can call his offices and let him know how much H.R. 1207 means to you, requesting his support.